What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4551739 about?

The tribunal order states: Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd As Agent For Iris Clanachan Family Trust must

How much money was awarded in case 4551739?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $2,500.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4551739?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4551739?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9774400-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

What was Tenancy Tribunal case 4551739 about?

The tribunal order states: Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd As Agent For Iris Clanachan Family Trust must

How much money was awarded in case 4551739?

Filing Fee: $20.44 awarded to tenant; Property Damage: $2,500.00 awarded to tenant

What type of tenancy dispute was case 4551739?

The primary dispute was Property damage.

Where can I read the official tribunal order for case 4551739?

The official Ministry of Justice published order is available at https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/TTV2/PDF/9774400-Tribunal_Order_Redacted.pdf.

Room 5, 7A Laurence Street, Waltham, Christchurch 8011 Tenancy Tribunal Case 4551739 — Property damage

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4551739 — net $2,520.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation – General Damages	$2,500.00	Compensation – General Damages
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,520.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,520.44

Order

Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd As Agent For Iris Clanachan Family Trust must pay [The tenant/s] $2,520.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below: DescriptionTenant Compensation – General Damages $2,500.00 Filing fee reimbursement $20.44 Total award $2,520.44 Total payable by Landlord to Tenant $2,520.44

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
[The tenant/s] rented a room in the property at 7A Lawrence St from 7 October 2021 until 2 August 2022. The form of tenancy agreement used by the landlord was for a boarding house tenancy.
The landlord purported to terminate the tenancy, without cause, in July 2022. The landlord gave 28 days’ notice of termination. Such notice is permitted for boarding house tenancies, but not for standard residential tenancies.
In July 2023 I determined that this was not a boarding house tenancy. The landlord appealed that decision. The District Court has confirmed that this was not a boarding house tenancy and a hearing was convened today to consider [The tenant/s] substantive claims.
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord’s notice to terminate the tenancy was unlawful. It was. This was a standard tenancy (despite the landlord believing it was a boarding house), the landlord gave only 28 days’ notice to terminate, without cause. From 11 February 2021, landlords cannot give a termination notice without a valid reason under s 51(1) or (2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The amount of notice required is 63 or 90 days, depending on the reason for termination.
It is an unlawful act for a landlord to give a termination notice to a tenant knowing they are not entitled to give the notice (s 60AA RTA). Exemplary damages may be awarded, up to a maximum of $6,500.00 (s 60AA and Schedule 1A RTA).
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest (see s 109(3) RTA).
[The tenant/s] claims compensation of $15,000 for the landlord’s breach. The corroborative evidence in support of her claims was scant. [The tenant/s] did not establish the out-of-pocket expenses claimed, loss of wages or any entitlement to rent reimbursement.
However, she did establish a claim for general damages for stress and emotional harm. [The tenant/s] provided evidence from her doctor regarding medication for increasing depression from September 2022. She also explained the effect of summary termination, without any reason being given. She, quite reasonably, explained the importance of security of a home. In an email response to the landlord’s notice to terminate, [The tenant/s] had said that she was “devastated to be evicted from her entirely out of the blue”. She said that the landlord’s decision has negatively impacted her sense of self, mental health, and ability to sleep and work.
The landlord advised the tenant, in it’s notice to terminate, [The tenant/s] was not required to stay for the full 28 days, but could leave on 48 hours’ notice if she chose to (consistent with the notice requirements for a boarding house). [The tenant/s] took that option. She said that was because she did not want to continue paying a landlord who treated her this way. She also said that friends offered her a temporary place to stay.
The landlord disputed the claims. It says that [The tenant/s] stress and the consequences she suffered were caused by her decision to leave the property on 48 hours’ notice, not by its failure to give a correct notice of termination. The landlord says that 28 days should have been adequate for [The tenant/s] to find alternative rental accommodation.
The landlord’s submission is without merit and attempts to minimise its own failure to provide a proper notice to terminate. While I understand that the landlord believed this was a boarding house tenancy, it was not. This is a professional landlord, and it is responsible for issuing a proper notice to terminate which complies with the RTA.
In Tenant v Ezy Rentals NZ Ltd [2022] 4323927, the Tribunal set out bands of general damages which may be awarded. I find that the landlord’s breach in this case falls into the second band, the tenant having endured a higher level of stress and worry than mere inconvenience and annoyance. I also note that the landlord’s attitude and conduct since the notice was given, exacerbated the tenant’s distress in that she has not received any reason or explanation for the summary termination of her tenancy. I award the tenant $2,500 in general damages.
[The tenant/s] did not address me on exemplary damages at the hearing. However, I find that the landlord’s breach was not intentional, nor did the landlord know that it was not entitled to issue the notice to terminate at the time it was given.
As the tenant was the successful party, I have awarded reimbursement of the filing fee and granted her request for suppression of her name.

Claims and awards in Tenancy Tribunal application 4551739 — net $2,520.44 NZD. Amounts reconciled from the published order (claims sum and net total). Verify on MoJ.
Claim	Tenant	Reason
Compensation – General Damages	$2,500.00	Compensation – General Damages
Filing fee reimbursement	$20.44	Filing fee reimbursement
Net award	$2,520.44
Total payable by Landlord to Tenant	$2,520.44

Order

Four Seasons Realty 2017 Ltd As Agent For Iris Clanachan Family Trust must pay [The tenant/s] $2,520.44 immediately, calculated as shown in table below: DescriptionTenant Compensation – General Damages $2,500.00 Filing fee reimbursement $20.44 Total award $2,520.44 Total payable by Landlord to Tenant $2,520.44

Reasons

Both parties attended the hearing.
[The tenant/s] rented a room in the property at 7A Lawrence St from 7 October 2021 until 2 August 2022. The form of tenancy agreement used by the landlord was for a boarding house tenancy.
The landlord purported to terminate the tenancy, without cause, in July 2022. The landlord gave 28 days’ notice of termination. Such notice is permitted for boarding house tenancies, but not for standard residential tenancies.
In July 2023 I determined that this was not a boarding house tenancy. The landlord appealed that decision. The District Court has confirmed that this was not a boarding house tenancy and a hearing was convened today to consider [The tenant/s] substantive claims.
[The tenant/s] claims that the landlord’s notice to terminate the tenancy was unlawful. It was. This was a standard tenancy (despite the landlord believing it was a boarding house), the landlord gave only 28 days’ notice to terminate, without cause. From 11 February 2021, landlords cannot give a termination notice without a valid reason under s 51(1) or (2) Residential Tenancies Act 1986. The amount of notice required is 63 or 90 days, depending on the reason for termination.
It is an unlawful act for a landlord to give a termination notice to a tenant knowing they are not entitled to give the notice (s 60AA RTA). Exemplary damages may be awarded, up to a maximum of $6,500.00 (s 60AA and Schedule 1A RTA).
Where a party has committed an unlawful act intentionally, the Tribunal may award exemplary damages where it is satisfied it would be just to do so, having regard to the party’s intent, the effect of the unlawful act, the interests of the other party, and the public interest (see s 109(3) RTA).
[The tenant/s] claims compensation of $15,000 for the landlord’s breach. The corroborative evidence in support of her claims was scant. [The tenant/s] did not establish the out-of-pocket expenses claimed, loss of wages or any entitlement to rent reimbursement.
However, she did establish a claim for general damages for stress and emotional harm. [The tenant/s] provided evidence from her doctor regarding medication for increasing depression from September 2022. She also explained the effect of summary termination, without any reason being given. She, quite reasonably, explained the importance of security of a home. In an email response to the landlord’s notice to terminate, [The tenant/s] had said that she was “devastated to be evicted from her entirely out of the blue”. She said that the landlord’s decision has negatively impacted her sense of self, mental health, and ability to sleep and work.
The landlord advised the tenant, in it’s notice to terminate, [The tenant/s] was not required to stay for the full 28 days, but could leave on 48 hours’ notice if she chose to (consistent with the notice requirements for a boarding house). [The tenant/s] took that option. She said that was because she did not want to continue paying a landlord who treated her this way. She also said that friends offered her a temporary place to stay.
The landlord disputed the claims. It says that [The tenant/s] stress and the consequences she suffered were caused by her decision to leave the property on 48 hours’ notice, not by its failure to give a correct notice of termination. The landlord says that 28 days should have been adequate for [The tenant/s] to find alternative rental accommodation.
The landlord’s submission is without merit and attempts to minimise its own failure to provide a proper notice to terminate. While I understand that the landlord believed this was a boarding house tenancy, it was not. This is a professional landlord, and it is responsible for issuing a proper notice to terminate which complies with the RTA.
In Tenant v Ezy Rentals NZ Ltd [2022] 4323927, the Tribunal set out bands of general damages which may be awarded. I find that the landlord’s breach in this case falls into the second band, the tenant having endured a higher level of stress and worry than mere inconvenience and annoyance. I also note that the landlord’s attitude and conduct since the notice was given, exacerbated the tenant’s distress in that she has not received any reason or explanation for the summary termination of her tenancy. I award the tenant $2,500 in general damages.
[The tenant/s] did not address me on exemplary damages at the hearing. However, I find that the landlord’s breach was not intentional, nor did the landlord know that it was not entitled to issue the notice to terminate at the time it was given.
As the tenant was the successful party, I have awarded reimbursement of the filing fee and granted her request for suppression of her name.

Tenancy Tribunal case 4551739 — Property damage at Room 5, 7A Laurence Street, Waltham, Christchurch 8011

At a glance

Tenancy Tribunal case 4551739 — Property damage at Room 5, 7A Laurence Street, Waltham, Christchurch 8011

At a glance

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions

Award balance

Claims & awards

Order

Reasons

Topics & place

Residential Tenancies Act sections

Key findings

Frequently asked questions